April 9, 2025 at 11:30:00 PM
AFS Cinema
Manthan (The Churning)
India | Narrative Feature
1976 | 134 mins | Hindi
Virtual Q&A
Cannes Classics 2024
"Manthan”, a fictionalized version of the beginnings of the remarkable dairy cooperative movement that transformed India from a milk-deficient nation to the world’s largest milk producer inspired by Verghese Kurien, the Father of the White Revolution, is also India’s first crowdfunded film produced by 500,000 dairy farmers who contributed Rs. 2/- each towards the production of the film.

Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation

Film Heritage Foundation used the best surviving elements for the restoration – the original camera negative and the 35 mm print preserved at the NFDC – NFAI. Unfortunately, the sound negative was not available. We digitized the sound from the 35 mm print preserved at Film Heritage Foundation. The film elements were repaired by the Film Heritage Foundation conservators and the scanning was done in Prasad Lab in Chennai We found that due to the deterioration of the print, there were vertical green lines on many parts of the film. While the scanning and digital clean-up was done at Prasad under the supervision of L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, the grading, sound restoration and mastering was done at the lab in Bologna. Both Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, the cinematographer of the film, have been involved in the restoration of the film.
Restoration Process
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Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation
About the Artist

Photo courtesy:
Film Heritage Foundation
Shyam Benegal, a pioneer of Indian parallel cinema, is renowned for his socially conscious films tackling caste, gender, and socio-political issues. Born on December 14, 1934, he debuted with Ankur (1974), followed by acclaimed films like Nishant, Manthan, and Bhumika. Manthan was uniquely crowd-funded by 500,000 farmers, highlighting India's White Revolution.
Benegal has collaborated with legendary actors like Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah and directed the iconic TV series Bharat Ek Khoj (1988). Honored with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and multiple National Film Awards, his work continues to inspire and challenge societal norms.

Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation
Trailer
Credits
Director:
Shyam Benegal
Writer:
V. Kurien
Shyam Benegal
Vijay Tendulkar
Producers:
Shyam Benegal/Sahyadri Films for Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.
Film Editor:
Bhanudas Diwkar
Girish Karnad
Smita Patil
Naseeruddin Shah
Anant Nag
Amrish Puri
Kulbushan Kharbanda
Mohan Agashe
Sadhu Meher
Rajendra Jaspal
Abha Dhulia
Anjali Paigankar
and the people of Sanganva
Restoration Effort Led By: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation
Restoration Credit:
Restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul), the cinematographer Govind Nihalani and the director Shyam Benegal. Funding supported by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul)